COVID-19: Supermarket in Finland installs hands-free door handles

Photo from Reuters

Finland continues to lead in social awareness amid coronavirus disease (COVID-19). A supermarket in Helsinki, Finland tested refrigerator doors with longer handles. So, shoppers can open it without hand-to-surface contact. This way, anyone can avoid coronavirus disease.

Finnish supermarket tests hands-free door handles to avoid COVID-19.

Energy company Fortum created this new door handles in response to people feeling wary of touching shared public surfaces. 3D-printed and made from recycled plastic, it allows the supermarket to focus on customers’ needs and suggestions.

Responsibility Manager of Helsinki Cooperative Society Elanto (HOK-Elanto) Satu Kattilamäki detailed how this move could help flatten the curve. HOK-Elanto provides benefits and services for residents of the Greater Helsinki area. They own business operations that other S-Group partnered from various business fields have supplemented.

“I think we need our customers’ feedback first, then we could make decisions [if we make more in] our other shops.”

Staying safe in supermarkets.

Supermarket shopping completely changed due to the impact of COVID-19. Panic-buying swept off the shelves. With restrictions held in place, this limits the total number of people in stores. Associate Professor of Food Microbiology at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Julian Cox hoped to reduce the risk.

“When you’re ready to go and shop, you should be thinking about what you want to get – remembering that your greatest risk is exposure to other shoppers who may be carrying the virus. By planning and limiting the time you are spending in the supermarket, you are reducing your risk already.”

“So have a plan, understand what you want to get, collect those items, minimize any contact, maximize social distancing, and then get that produce home. Once you get those groceries home, it’s important you minimize the contact between surfaces of the goods you bought and the surfaces in your home. In particular, the surfaces on which you prepare food. If you do put your groceries down, after you have packed them away, clean those contact surfaces down to minimize the risk of transfer through to your food.”

Do you think this should happen in the Philippines, too? Let us know in the comments section below.

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coronavirus Coronavirus disease COVID-19 Finland Fortum Helsinki Helsinki Cooperative Society Elanto HOK-Elanto Julian Cox Satu Kattilamäki Supermarket in Finland installs hands-free door handles due to COVID-19 University of New South Wales

Angela Baltan

Angela Grace P. Baltan has been writing professionally since 2017. She doesn’t hesitate to be opinionated in analyzing movies and television series. Aside from that, she has an affinity for writing anything under the sun. As a writer, she uses her articles to advocate for feminism, gender equality, the LGBTQIA+ community, and mental health among others.